Intricacy
by Suki No Hikari
Summary: Sometimes love isn’t enough. When Ryoma finds himself in a lifethreatening situation with no one to protect him, wishing to see just one more day seems useless. However, sometimes, love is all one needs to survive. [MomoRyo] Shounenai
1. Prologue

Title: Intricacy

Author: Suki No Hikari

Genre: Romance/Drama

Rating: PG-13 (for violence)

Pairing: Momoshiro Takeshi x Echizen Ryoma (aka MomoRyo)

Summary: Sometimes love isn't enough. When Ryoma finds himself in a life-threatening situation with no one to protect him, wishing to see just one more day seems useless. However, sometimes, love is just enough.

Warnings: Shounen-ai, violence, an actual serious story (XD), not the perfect Tenipuri life (Perfect Tenipuri Life no major conflicts ever, well, except in tennis…), and UN-BETA-ED (XD).

Information: **This story takes place after the matches in the Junior Invitational part (the ones against the American team).** I'm only expecting this story to be about 5-6 chapters long plus a possible epilogue. I was originally going for a sequel but it wouldn't have had enough plot bunnies to last more than two chapters…

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. (insert a witty and sarcastic remark here)

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Prologue

"Close your eyes!"

"No."

"Awww… come on Echizen, close your eyes!"

"No, Momo-senpai."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please? Please? Please?"

"Will it make you shut up?"

"Yes!"

"Fine."

Ryoma fired a glare over the table to his burger buddy. Seemingly unaffected, Momoshiro simply smiled happily and consumed the final bite of his hamburger. Reluctantly, Ryoma closed his eyes, preparing for the worst of whatever Momoshiro was about to do.

"Now hold out your hands," Momoshiro said through a mouthful of food. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Ryoma did what he was told.

Ryoma felt something small and lightweight drop into his palms and he automatically opened his eyes to look at the object.

"Happy Birthday!"

Eye twitching, Ryoma stared at the Ponta pull tab in his hand. Momoshiro burst out laughing at the look on his friend's face, which only made Ryoma cast another angry look at him.

"What's this for? My birthday's not for another seven months." Momoshiro shrugged uncaringly and took a drink from his now tab-less Ponta.

Ryoma groaned heatedly. "You can be so childish sometimes, Momo-senpai."

Finishing up their food and swinging their tennis bags on their shoulders, the two left their new burger place and stepped onto the sidewalk outside. Since they had a shortened practice after school, Momoshiro chose to test the new burger place on the other side of town. Since his senpai was paying for the meal, Ryoma just followed without complaints. The lone problem with the burger place, however, seemed apparent by the look of the surrounding area. The two tennis players really didn't find themselves in the 'best' part of town.

"So where to next, Echizen?" Momoshiro asked as he closed the door to the restaurant behind him.

Before Ryoma even had a chance to blink, however, he felt strange hands covering his mouth and grabbing his arms roughly. Momoshiro, who had been examining a sign a building across the street, looked to Ryoma - only to find him gone.

"Echizen? Echizen!" Upon hearing nothing, Momoshiro started walking towards the alley next to the restaurant. As he rounded the corner, a fist shot out and connected hard with his nose. The tennis player let out a moan of pain and fell to his knees, only to be kicked agonizingly back onto the sidewalk.

"Alright! Lets go!" Momoshiro heard an unfamiliar voice call out and he took notice of footsteps retreating into the alley around the corner. As he slowly attempted to stand up, a black car sped out of the passage and turned onto to the main road, racing down the street. While trying to rid himself of dizziness, Momoshiro gradually staggered into the dark alleyway only to find Ryoma's tennis bag lying there, as if it had been just thrown off of him.

And then it hit him like a pile of tennis balls. Ryoma had been kidnapped.

Without thinking, he snatched up his kouhai's bag and tossed it over his other shoulder before sprinting to get his bike. He would need to pedal faster than he'd ever in the past in order to catch up with that car.

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"Let go of me!" Ryoma cried out as nails dug into his wrists and a hand pulled at his hair.

"I can't believe this little brat dared to bite me," growled the person who held him. A tiny cry of pain escaped the petit tennis player as his hair was tugged back violently. Ryoma tried to make sense of his surroundings despite the pain - a black car with about five older men residing in it. Two were on his left side in the back seat, and one, the one grabbing onto him, was situated on his right, next to the side door. There was a driver and a passenger in the front seats and just as he scrutinized to see if he could make out the face of the passenger, the head turned around and stared straight at him.

Ryoma recognized that face. He had faced against this guy and his father. _Sasabe, was it?_ Ryoma thought to himself. _No, the Sasabe from the Under-16 Tournament was younger than this._ The man in the front seat smirked at Ryoma's confused look.

"Don't you recognize me?" He smiled viciously. "You should - you know my younger brother. I mean, you did play that filth of a game against him once. You see, I didn't really like the way you treated my younger brother and father," the stranger snarled.

"But you hate your family, Sasabe-sama-" one of the men sitting next to Ryoma announced.

"Shut up! He disgraced the Sasabe name when he toyed with family, and I saw the way this arrogant bastard played my father. And as far as I can tell, even if my brother and father are mere tennis-loving fools, I'm still a Sasabe. So he's disgracing me by association, get it?"

The man who spoke up nodded obediently and Sasabe continued. "But you see, I don't play tennis," he started, spitting the word 'tennis' out of his mouth as if it were dirt. "And I have a feeling that this little boy needs to learn to respect his elders more. Who says I need to play against him in order to break him down? I have much better plans than taking part of such a stupid game."

Ryoma realized what they meant right away - they were going to beat him, or worse. He felt the anger build up in his chest and he let out a small growl. "That just dirty," he whispered.

Sasabe laughed heartily. "Dirty? What I consider dirty is what we're going to do to you next. We'll see if your father can pay the ransom for you." A few of the other men chuckled at Ryoma - smiles full of greed and possessiveness.

Sasabe smirked maliciously. "And even if your father can pay, when he gets you back, you'll never be able to play tennis again." Ryoma glared at him and opened his mouth to speak; however, he was cut off.

"Now boys, I don't want to hear anymore of that brat's babbles, tie him up and tape his mouth!"

Eyes widening, Ryoma quickly fished something small out of his pocket and closed his fists. The next thing he new, his hands were tied behind his back and his mouth was covered with duct tape, a hand on his chin squeezing painfully to prevent him from opening his mouth (1).

And for one of the first times in his life, as he was surrounded by five mysterious, violent men, Ryoma felt a cloud of genuine fear well up inside of him.

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Feeling as if his legs would fall off and mind racing with possibilities of what may happen to Echizen, Momoshiro was trying to think as rationally as he could. He'd watched the car for about three miles before he could no longer keep up with it. However, he might be able to predict its likely path since the only buildings out in this area were abandoned warehouses. He just had to figure out which one they'd be in. On his way, he'd placed pieces of his red grip tape on poles and buildings as he passed them - to mark a trail.

However, he couldn't be positive of any of them really sticking since he was riding at the same time he planted them. Momoshiro thanked his ability to ride his bike with no hands, though. (2)

'_I have to come up with a plan. No more being reckless, Takeshi! You've got a serious situation here and you can't just storm into wherever you're going without some sort of preparation.' _Momoshiro furrowed his eyebrows together, thinking._ 'So… there'll probably be a good number of strong men who could take me out in a minute guarding Echizen. I have to find a way to sneak in.'_

Momoshiro really had no idea what he was going to do - but whatever he came up with, as long as he could find Ryoma, nothing else mattered.

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(1) If you've ever tried to duct tape someone's mouth (not like I would know… :cough: ), you'd notice that simply by opening their mouth the duct tape would come off. That's why I had 'the man' (XD) hold his jaw. Yessum.

(2) Zomg I looooovvvvveee riding my bike with no hands XD Heh, just so you know it isn't impossible. With how much Momo rides his bike, it should be easy for him. I mean I BARELY ride my bike and without hands I can do so many things - hold a CD player (and dance to the music! Er… bounce rather), turn corners using a shift of body weight, hold a backpack in a comfy position, deliver a pizza… XD Yes I did that once (there's a Dominos about a 10 minute bike ride from my house). It wasn't hard really, only when I had to go up hills…

**ANYWAY**, I hope you liked the prologue! I have all my plans for this story written down all the way up to the epilogue so it's kind of just writing itself. :D I can't wait until I have enough time to write the next chapter! But right now, I have homework… rawr…

Oh and that whole bit in the beginning with the "Happy Birthday" with a pull tab happened to me yesterday - just my friend gave me a soda tab not a Ponta one XD Credit goes to her, I guess? (however, it's going to appear later so I'm not taking that part out! Yes, the Ponta pull tab gets another cameo appearance!) Hope you enjoyed it!

Love and yaoi fanboys! Please review if you liked it! And even if you didn't!

:… Suki-chan…:


	2. Struck

Title: Intricacy

Author: Suki No Hikari

Genre: Romance/Drama

Rating: PG-13 (for violence)

Pairing: Momoshiro Takeshi x Echizen Ryoma (aka MomoRyo)

Summary: Sometimes love isn't enough. When Ryoma finds himself in a life-threatening situation with no one to protect him, wishing to see just one more day seems useless. However, sometimes, love is just enough.

Warnings: Shounen-ai, violence, **unbeta-ed**, possible **spoilers**, possible Ryoma OOC (but this fiction does contain basically a Ryoma makeover… XD You'll see. You'll see.) Also, this chapter is pretty dialogue-free and I apologize for the amount of long descriptive paragraphs (well I like to be lazy and not read long paragraphs so maybe this just applies to me).

Information: See prologue's information – **this chapter will contain spoilers** for the series up to the Junior Invitational (was that what it was called? I seriously am blanking on it).

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis AND I don't own the lyrics used in this fiction. The lyrics are from Bonnie Pink's song "Building a Castle." **NOTE:**From now on, you'll see lyrics in every chapter because that's simply a way I customize my fanfiction.

Also, thank you all of you for your lovely comments. They were greatly appreciated!

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"No matter how much I cry, it won't stop,

No matter how hard I cry my tears in my frustration,

No matter how loud I scream, it won't be heard –

It just flows out silently."

**Chapter One: Struck**

Aged buildings lined the road Momoshiro trudged along; the ones nearest him were made of dark brick and further down the block the brick buildings began to disperse, being replaced by abandoned warehouses. Afraid that if he used his bike he'd miss the right building, Momoshiro wheeled said bike down the road using his hands. He tried to stay in the shadow of buildings, not letting himself remain out in the open for an extended period of time. So, if he did pass the building they had Echizen (if he was even in one of these buildings – talk about your wild goose chase), the men that might be guarding the area wouldn't see him.

Of course, there also may be no building, no men guarding anything, no kidnapping whatsoever – for what Momo knew, at least. Echizen could very possibly be back at the burger place trying to figure out where the heck his senpai was. But Momoshiro had a hunch because of what happened at that same burger place that Echizen just may be in a lot of trouble right now. So he continued on.

His feet hurt. His leg muscles ached. He was sure that he had a black eye. His shoulders felt like they were about to fall off from carrying the weight of not only his bag, but Echizen's as well. An after nearly an hour since he began his chase, Momoshiro would normally give up at this point. But to him, Echizen Ryoma had become more than simply 'normal.' _'And right now I just need to stop complaining and find him.'_ Because even if Momoshiro could complain to somebody this moment, he knew that his problems might just be meaningless compared to what Echizen would be going through.

Eyes darting around the area, Momoshiro stayed aware for any signs of movement, and his ears perked at the slightest sound. As he bypassed what may possibly have been his twentieth brick building, he paused to listen to his surroundings – only to hear, once again, the silence of the area. Momoshiro exhaled slowly; it had already been an hour and a half since the 'kidnapping,' if that's what it was.

Momoshiro slowly put some of his weight onto his bike, inching it forward a few inches. When he heard the bike's wheel run over something that made a faint clinking sound, Momoshiro gazed downwards – perhaps he stumbled upon a piece of broken glass.

Nearly utilizing every ounce of his self-control, Momoshiro held in a gasp. His whispered "no way…" came to be the loudest sound he'd heard in the past ten minutes.

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"What do I get from building a castle?

What do I get from building a castle?

This lone castle."

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After nearly thirty minutes of driving, Ryoma supposed, the black car finally halted at a dirty red brick building that seemed to have been there for thousands of years. Gunshot holes scattered among the outside of the building, nearly every window shattered, beer bottles littering the ground – to say this place seemed in bad shape was an understatement. Not to mention that the drive didn't turn out to be the most pleasant experience either – another understatement.

Ryoma had never before in his life been involved with this type a gang; it was as if they were common-day pirates. They talked about raping and stealing and killing as if it were some sort of game. These men told stories about young women _and men_ (to Ryoma's horror) that they've taken advantage of in the same type of way you would tell your friends about a camping trip – everything was to their own amusement. Sasabe's gang even put bets on how many people one could kill in a week.

Ryoma briefly wondered how all this crime never made it to the news. That, or the news in his area doesn't cover news stories from wherever he was now. What's more, throughout all the gang's tales, they were constantly sneering at him, knocking him around for fun and throwing his hat around the car (which he never did get back), and telling crude and vulgar jokes just to make Ryoma cringe. He'd learned about sex education in school – but never like that. (1)

For the first time in his life, Ryoma wasn't sure how to act or feel in this type of situation. As long as he lived, he acted the way he chose, and whether it seemed arrogant sometimes to others, he never had thought twice that his attitude might force him into such a situation. How _can_ he act right now? If Ryoma were to be overconfident and indignant to these men, well, he didn't want to think of what they might do to him. Ryoma had never really felt this type of fear in his life.

After the first match against Rikkai's vice-captain Sanada Genchirou, after his complete and utter loss, Ryoma had not felt _fear_ towards Sanada – he felt determined and fueled with a flame of resolve to beat him the next time. Never once, in his entire life, had he been _afraid_ of any of his opponents or the people he knew. Akutsu, Sanada, Kevin – each one posed a threat to him, especially Akutsu, but not once had he been afraid. He stood up to Akutsu, despite the injury he received afterwards. It only powered him more.

But, somehow, this was different – so unlike anything he'd ever faced before. He _could_ go up against these men, but that would be like playing a losing card game with his life. How could he know they didn't intend to kill him? What if they acquired the ransom money and just decided to kill him before returning him to his family? No, Ryoma couldn't go up against these men, no matter how badly he wanted to, no matter how much strength it would take to resist standing up for himself. This was no longer about tennis – not even Akutsu seemed as cold-hearted as Sasabe and his lackeys.

Even though he thought over all the various approaches to how he should act, he also felt an instinctive emotion wash over him. A need for protection, a need for help, a strong yearning to just have his mom and dad here with him right now. Ryoma knew he hadn't experienced this feeling since he was just growing up and hadn't expected to ever feel it again. Him, Echizen Ryoma, requiring help from others? Wanting his mother and father? Impossible. The thought rendered him incredulous. But despite his deep opposition towards this feeling, unconsciously he couldn't help but long to go home.

Not to mention, far at the back of his mind, one question had gone unsolved. What _had_ happened to Momoshiro-senpai? Was he still at the restaurant? How many beatings did he get? The last thing Ryoma saw before shoved roughly into the car was Momoshiro getting punched by one of the men sitting next to him. However, he didn't brood over how Momoshiro was for long – he had to worry about himself first. (2)

"Hey kid! Get moving!" Ryoma blinked his eyes twice; it wasn't like him to get lost in thought during such a critical time. Yanked from the car, Ryoma didn't have time to try and get out himself. Two men seized both of his arms and started dragging him off across the street towards the building he'd looked at earlier. As subtly as he could, Ryoma opened up of his tied fisted hands and let something drop to the ground. He prayed that the men had not heard it fall, and he hoped someone, _anyone_ may find it.

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"They tell me to hurt myself, deeper and deeper.

They don't what is left to stay away from, insanity."

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Biking away from the buildings as fast as his feet could manage, Momoshiro held the Ponta pull-tab tightly within his fingers. As soon as he'd picked up the tab from underneath his bike, two and two clicked – Echizen must've dropped it for him to find. It was the exact same one he'd given his kouhai at the burger place. That confirmed his kidnapping. It also meant Echizen had been taken into that building who knows how long ago.

Coming upon a garbage bin, the spiky-haired teen leaped off his bike and removed the two Seigaku tennis bags from his shoulders. Heaving the bike over his head, Momoshiro gently placed it in the garbage bin, to hide the fact that he'd been in this area in case someone _had_ seen him. He also concealed one of the tennis bags in the garbage bin as well – if Momoshiro were to get into trouble and end up being chased, he at least knew where his weapons were (even if they were mere tennis rackets and balls).

With that, Momoshiro slowly made his way back to the building, knowing he'd need to make use of the hidden back routes in order to get there undetected. _'I'm coming Echizen,'_ he thought to himself with a blaze of determination, slinging the solitary tennis bag over his shoulder.

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_"They tell me, they tell me to go as far as I can._"

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Being hauled through the abandoned house as if he were mere cattle, Ryoma tried his best to avoid the glass strewn among the ground, the holes in the stairs as he was taken to the second floor, and mostly he tried to avoid doing anything that would upset the men who held him captive. Ryoma's journey through the brick house concluded when the men swung open a steel door that revealed a small, empty room.

Ryoma's heart leapt when suddenly the men tipped him over and tied his legs with an itchy rope, then proceeded to toss him so he fell with a sickening thud on the floor of the room, and finally they locked the door behind them. Ryoma blinked and felt the twinge of pain in his hip; it had all happened so fast. He took a moment to look around the room and saw… nothing. Gray painted walls, no windows, and a simple square air vent on the ceiling – that was it. With no furniture, no carpeting, and no signs that anyone had ever lived in this room, Ryoma frowned in frustration. Besides the air vent (that he couldn't reach no matter how hard he tried), there were no means of escape.

Mouth taped and arms and legs bound, Ryoma realized with a twinge in his heart that he was trapped.

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"So I sing to be understood,

until they listen to me."

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"Ouch!" Momoshiro whispered with such silence that it barely reached his own ears. He gripped the brick wall tightly, staring at his bleeding finger and mentally cursing. When he had looked at the side of this building, it had seemed so much easier to climb up than he'd assumed. Since the best way in unnoticed happened to be through a second story broken window, Momoshiro had forced himself to scramble up the side of the brick structure. _'But damn, this is hard! Especially with this bag on my shoulder.'_ Momoshiro frowned to himself and gradually extended his right arm to another hole in the brick, lifting himself up further.

Once he'd become high enough, he cautiously peered into the window's room, hoping that he could just have Sengoku's luck for this moment and that there wouldn't be anyone in there. Momoshiro breathed a sigh of relief when he'd seen his wish had been granted. Grasping the window's ledge, he hoisted himself into the room as inaudibly as he could manage. Although the closed door of the room blocked out most sound, Momoshiro still heard voices coming from down the hallway.

Inching closer to the door and positioning himself so if the door were to open, he'd be concealed by it, Momoshiro warily eased his ear onto the door, listening to the outside sounds. The men talking didn't seem close to his room so he expected he had enough time. Momoshiro's eyes flitted across the room until he found what he was looking for. Climbing upon a broken-in chair, Momoshiro slowly removed the air vent covering from the ceiling, cursing to himself when it made a faint clanking sound.

He stuffed his Seigaku bag up into the large air passageway and instantly replaced the cover, in case one of the men had heard him. As swiftly as he could, Momoshiro moved back over to the door and situated his ear there once again. After a few minutes, it seemed that the voices had retreated downstairs and he expected the coast was clear. Turning the handle gently, Momoshiro stared into the hall, mentally thanking his luck for a second time that day when he saw no one there.

Moving down the hallway, he began to examine the doors in an attempt of figuring out which one held Echizen. He noticed the correct one immediately. It had a number of different locks on it, but none needed a key. Heart racing, Momoshiro silently undid each lock and opened the door slowly, hoping beyond hope that Echizen lie behind it.

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"Until they listen to me..."

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After being in the room for about an hour and only managing to remove the tape from his mouth (from rubbing his mouth against his shoulder), Ryoma rested against the wall directly facing the door. From what he'd heard, the man guarding his room had just been called downstairs for something or other. Not like it mattered – even if Ryoma uncovered a way to stand up, untie himself, unlock the doors, and escape the room, someone outside would catch him before he could even leave the building. Plus, since he had no clue as to where he was, he would know no place to go.

Suddenly, Ryoma's pulse quickened as he heard the locks to the door softly open. He held his breath and knew the worst was about to come; they've come to beat him, or rape him, or kill him – something _awfu_l. The door opened slowly to reveal…

"Momo-senpai?" Ryoma murmured in pure disbelief. Momoshiro's eyes grew wide with relief, and in one smooth movement, he'd shut the door, walked across the room, fell to his knees and put his arms around Ryoma.

"I'm so glad," Momoshiro breathed out, head resting on the younger player's chest, and for some reason not minding the feel of Echizen in his arms. Ryoma could feel heat come to his cheeks and his heart raced as he felt Momoshiro embracing him. Shocked, Ryoma could only make one coherent thought.

"How did you –" Ryoma started but Momoshiro shushed the other tennis player, cutting him off.

"I need to get you out of here," Momoshiro explained as he finally pulled himself from his kouhai. As he finally got a look at Echizen, he sucked in his breath and swallowed hard.

"Echizen…" Momoshiro felt himself mutter. The freshman's ankles and wrists were nearly bleeding from the ropes that bound him, he had red marks around his arms and legs where he had undoubtedly been beat up, and his terribly bruised jaw didn't make for the best sight in the world.

"Kami-sama, what have they done to you? I'm going to kill them all," Momoshiro growled out. Ryoma's eyes widened at the words.

"No! Don't go after them!" Ryoma begged hastily. Momoshiro's heart nearly stopped. _'I've never heard Echizen use that tone of voice ever before,'_ he thought to himself, feeling his chest constrict tightly. What had they done to Echizen? He'd never, _ever_ talk with that much desperation. Echizen had always depended on himself and here he was, pleading Momoshiro. _Pleading_.

Unconsciously, the older teen's eyes began to prickle with tears, for some reason, but none fell. _'How could they do this to such a strong kid?'_ Momoshiro shook his head in incredulity. "Echizen…" he began. But when Momoshiro heard the click of the door opening, his entire body froze.

"Hmmm, sorry to interrupt this lovely reunion," a voice from behind them announced loudly.

Ryoma's eyes shot up to meet Sasabe's. As a dreadful feeling suddenly plummeted into his stomach, he noticed the same fiery gleam in Sasabe's eyes that he'd seen when Sasabe mentioned him never playing tennis again. Like a predator who'd just countered its prey.

And Momoshiro, too, knew with a mere look at this man that they were in trouble.

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(1) Ryoma's a freaking 12-year-old. He's only had a snippet of sex education in school (well, I did when I was his age – we got to learn about the reproductive parts! Yay/sarcasm) and the way grown men would describe sex? Well, all I have to say is… poor kid. ( He's probably corrupted for life! (I'm so evil to him! T.T)

(2) I think that it's _just_ like Echizen to only worry about others for only so long if his life was in more danger. From what I saw of him in the series, he never really did anything for others unless he had some half-assed line about how it bothered him attached to it (think of the first episode!).

**Author Notes**: Oh dear, I apologize for how slow that chapter had to be. But from now on the story should pick up IMMENSELY. XD I'm also really liking how I have to power to help make Ryoma mature in this fic (you'll see him grow a lot in the next couple of chapters). But it does make sense, right? I'm not being a bad author by making him mature without an appropriate situation, am I? XD is always worrying about that kind of stuff

Anyway, thanks for continuing this story! Next update will most likely be next weekend because, well, school's a bitch. XD Please comment on ANYTHING. Although, flames will be donated to poor pyros. Constructive criticism is happily accepted, however (especially on spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc. etc.).

Please review!

:…Suki-chan…:


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